Amalgamator.



F. STRINGHAM.

AMALGAMATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 27, 1913.

1,1 13,065. Patented Oct. 6, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- amen/toe ,5w% 1 ia im 9/ THF NoRR/S PETERS c0. PluoraLlrHcL. WASHINGTON. n C.

F. STRINGHAM.

AMALGAMATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 27, 1913.

Patented Oct. 6, 1914.

2 SHLB'1S-SHELT 2 fie; W

witnesses :5. (5". fizza THE NORRIS PETERS to PHO! UNITED srarns ragnnr OFFICE.

1 FRED STRING-HAMQOF DENVER, COLORADO.

AMALGAMATOR.

Application filed June 27, 1913. Serial No. 77s;092.

' To all whom it may concern i Be it known that LFREDSTRINGHAM, a

citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Amalgamators; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to: make and use the same, reference being had to the accompany ing drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, whichform a part of this specification.

My invention relates toiinprovements in amalgamators, of theclass infwhich the material under treatment is subjected to the ticable machine has been produced that will.

prevent the loss of a considerable proportion of the mercury as well as the amalgam, with the tailings. Consequently heretofore, the mercury bath amalgamators so far as I am aware havebeen failures,

- The distinguishing functional feature of my improved construction consists in the fact that when properly operated, there is no loss of mercury or amalgam with the tallmgs.

My improved apparatus bonsists of a pipe or casing inclined to a suitable degree, and m whlch ISIHQHIltGCl a screw conveyer of special construction for carrying the tail ings upwardly from the feed extremity of the pipe whichis lowermost. This conveyer 'consists of a shaft or rod towhich is applied a spirally arranged blade whose outer edge is toothed to allow the .mercury and a1nal gain to flow downwardly in the pipe and prevent its being carried upwardly and CllS- charged with the ta1l1ngs, the outer extremr ties of the teeth being rounded for a suitable distance so that at the points of the teeth of the blades, for a short distancethere shall be no conveying or liftingftendency. Furthermore, the shaft of the .SC eW is equipped Specification of Letters Patent.

of the'pipe.

Patented 0ct. 6,.1914.

with transversely arranged pins having.

pointed extremities. These pins serve to agitate the contents of the pipe and give the heavier particles of material containinggthe values, a chance to settle to the lowerside Having briefly outlined my improved construction, I will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof. 1

In this drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section showing my improved apparatus. Figs. 2 and 3 are sectionstaken on the lines 22 and 8-3, respectively of Fig. 1, the said sections being viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows adjacent the said lines, the parts being shown on a larger scale. Fig. 4 is an enlargedsectional view of the lower extremity of the pipe or tube forming a part of theconveyer. Fig. 5 isa similar view of the upper extremity of the structure.

teeth of the screw thread of the conveyer on a larger scale. i y

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in allthe views.

Let the numeral 5 designate a pipe which is supported in an. inclined position and as illustratedin the drawing, consists of a body member 6 whose lower extremity s threaded as shown at 7 into a cast iron terminal member 8 into the top of which is threaded as shown at 9, a feed tube 10 having its upper extremity enlarged and funnelshaped as shown at 12. The pipe 10 registers with an opening 13 in the lower extremity of the terminal member 8 of the shown at 19 a short pipe member 20, the.

lower extremity of the latter being threaded. as shown at 21 into asecond casing 22:carrying a valve 23, a lower discharge member 24 being alsothreaded into the casing 22.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail vlew in elevation, showlng one of the Between the two valves 18 and 23, the amalgam may be trapped after which .by opening the valve 23, theamalgam maybe removed without permittingthe escapeof material above the valve 18. Normally when the apparatus is in usethe valve 18 will be open and the valve 23 closed, as best illustrated in Fig.4 of the drawing.

Eccentric'ally-arranged within the inclined pipe 5 is a screw conveyer comprising a shaft 26- and a blade 27 spirally arranged thereon, the said spiral blade or the screw thread of the conveyor terminating a short distance from the lower extremity of the shaft 26 in order to constantly maintain a body of mercury within the lower. extremityof the pipe, of at least suflicient depth to cover the journal 28 of the shaft which enters a socket 29 formed in a plate 30 which is adjustably applied to the lower extremity of the terminal member 8 of thestructure. By maintaining a sulficient depth of mercury in the lower extremity of the inclined pipe to constantly fill the socket 1 9 and surround the journal 28wl1ich extends thereinto, the sand and other material which would otherwise enter the socket and quickly result in destroying the journal, is prevented from coming in contact with the journal at its bearing, thus affording a convenient, economical and eifective means of lubrication, since the mercury not only prevents the entrance of anyma terial which would have a tendency to cut the journal, but also performs the lubricating function. The socket plate 30 is adjust. ably connected with the lower extremity of the terminal member 8 by means of cap screws 31.

As illustrated in the drawing, the shaft 25 for the greater part of its length-is hollow, its lower extremity I however being equipped with a solid member 32 inserted therein and held in place by rivet pins 33. The upper extremity of the pipe 5 is provided with a permanently arranged closure member 3 perforated to receive the upper portion of the shaft 25, the upper extremity of the shaft however extending beyond the pipe and engaging a bearing 34 which is mounted on an arm 35 secured to the upper side of the pipe by means of rivets 36 or other suitable fastening devices. The hearing 84 is far enough beyond the upper or tailings discharge extremity ofthe pipe to prevent any ofthe material within the pipe fromcoming in contact with the bearing,

Beyond this bearing an operating pulley 37 is located. I

As illustrated in the drawing, the stationary closure member 3 at the upper extremity of the pipe, extends slightly above the center of the latter and is equipped withan adjustable slide valve or cut oif 38 which is slotted as shown at 39 to receive the shaft 26 of the conveyer. The cut off valve or plate 38 is adjustably secured in place at the upper extremity of the pipe 5 by means of two bolts 40 which respectively pass through slots 4 formedin the valve plate 38,

the said bolts passing through openings in the closure member 3 of the pipe, and being equipped with arms 43 for convenience of hand manipulation. By adjusting this cutoff valve or plate 38, thetailings discharge level 44 may be regulated at will. Atten tion is called to the fact that the tailings dis charge is an overflow at the upper extremity of the pipe.

The outer edge of the screw thread or, spiral plate27is toothed as shown at 45,

while the outer extremities 46 of these teeth are rounded, as distinguished from flat, in order to prevent any tendency for the outer extremities of the teeth to perform any conveying function, and by virtue of this arrangement, the depth of the material in the lower part of the pipe to the extent of the length of the rounded extremities 46 of the teeth, is not carried upwardly in the pipe, thus giving the mercury and amalgam an opportunity to settle inthe pipe andpass downwardly without interruption or counteractingtendency on the part of the conveyer. Nero it otherwise, the mercury as well as the tailings and a portion of the amalgam would be carried upwardly by the screw and lost withthe tailings.

The shaft 26 of the conveyor is equipped with transversely arranged pins47 which perform an agitating function, having a tendency to; maintain the water and material under treatment and therefore constituting a pulp, in a homogeneouscondition and sufil-s ciently thin andimobile to make it practicable for the mercury which mingles with the entire body of material in the lower portion of the pipe, to be brought into contact with the free metallicvalues contained in the said material, which values by virtue of their affinity for the mercury unite therewith forming an amalgam which 'quickly'settles in the lower part of the inclined pipe and gradually moves downwardly therein, by

virtue of the construction of the outer extremities 46 of the teeth 45 as heretofore explained, since the extremities of these teeth for a depth equal tothat of the amalgam in the lower part of the pipe, have no tendency whatever to raise the amalgam in the pipe and offer only slight resistance to its downward movement whereby it may be caught in the trap between the two valves 18 and 23 as heretofore explained. a

As illustrated in the drawing, the inclined pipe 5 is maintained in position by supports 48 and 49, their relativeheights being determined by the required inclination of the pipe, which inclination. may be varied at will and must be made to correspond or harmonize with the quantity of the various materials under treatment. It will, of course, be understood that the supports illustrated are only conventional. I

During the operation of the machine, the

feed screw is rotated withinlthe pipe by a suitable means as by connecting the pulley 37 i at the outer extremity of thefeed screw shaft extremity of the pipe through the" feed pipe 29 in communication with the body of mer- 10, may enter without being submerged in the mercury contents of thepipe. Furthermore, is necessary in order to make a commercially practicable apparatus that the journal 28 which enters the socket 29 as heretofore explained, be submerged in the mercury in order to prevent the sand and other material under theatment from entering the said socket and cutting out the j ournal within a comparativelyshort time. It will be difiicult to make an ordinary bearing by extending the same beyond the lower extremity of the pipe in the usual manner, which will prevent the entrance of the material from the pipe. In fact, the construction shown, whereby the lower journal of the feed screw shaft enters the open socket cury within the pipe, is the only one that t has occurred to me, that is entirely feasible and practicable, at least without making the construction much more complicated and expensive.

Assuming that the quantity of mercury within the pipe has its level as indicated by the dotted lines 50 in Figs. 1 and 4, the material to be treated and containing the free metallic values to be caught by the mercury, is fed into the lower part of the pipe 5 through the feed conduit 10, rotary motion being simultaneouslyimparted to the feed screw in the manner heretofore explained. The action of the feed screw carries the ma terial together with a portion of mercury upwardly in the pipe, thegemercury being distributed through the material during a suflicient time to cause all of the free metallic values therein by virtue of their affinity for the mercury, to unite therewith in the form of an amalgam. By virtue of the pemerge the journal 28. Furthermore, by virtue of the fact that the lower part of, the

upper extremity of the pipe 5 is closed,

whereby the only escape for the tailingsi is a i above the adjustable cut-off plate 38,. th'ere' is no opportunity for the escape or loss of any mercury, in case it should be carried to 1 1 the upper end of the pipe, since in this event, it will naturally assume the lower most position therein and there will be no possible opportunity for it to climb to the top of the pipe and pass out through the discharge opening 39. 1 i Attention called to the fact that during theoperation of the machine, the feed screw should be rotated with sufficient rapidity, to maintain the material within the pipe 5 in the condition of a comparatively thin pulp and whereby the solid material is equally distributed therethrough, other-.

wise there will be a tendency for the solid material topack in the pipe to such an extent as to render the machine useless. I

have found in actual use that a machine of this character is exceedingly sensitive and that careful manipulation is required in order to obtain the best results, since the speed of rotation of the feed screw, the quantity of material fed to the machine and the height to which the material is maintained in the feed pipe, must bear proper relation to one another.

In order to regulate or adjust the posi tion of the feed screw within the pipe 5, the socket plate 30 is made adjustable on the lower end of the terminal member ,8 of the,

pipe. In other words, if it is desired to allow the thread of the pipe or rather the teeth, the outer edge thereof, to reach entirely to the lower surface of the pipe, the plate 30 may be arranged in the position illustrated in Fig. 4:, while if it is desired. to change the position of the screw within the pipe so that the teeth of the screw thread shall travel above the lowermost portion of the pipe, the plate 30 may be raised, wherej by thejournal 28 is correspondingly. elevated and the entire screw shaft tilted. This tilting movement of the feed screw is permitted by virtue of the peculiarshape of the bearing 34: at the upper extremity of the feed screw shaft, and byvirtue ofthe fact that a bushing 51 is applied to theshaft where it engages the hearing. The curved outer surface of the bushing and the corresponding curve of the engaging surface of the bearingis indicated by the dotted line 52 in Figs. 1 and 5. The tilting of the feed screw shaft permitted by the adjustment of the socket plate 30 is an important feature,

since it makes it practicable to raise the cury and amalgam shall have abundant opportunity to move downwardly in the lower portion of the casing, while as the material approaches the upper part of the casing, it is gradually impoverished of its values and the proportion of mercury and amalgam which will accumulate in the upper portion will therefore gradually diminish. Hence, by lifting the lower extremity of the feed screw as may be done by properly adjusting the socket plate 30, the space between the lowermost part of the feed screw and the corresponding part of the casing will gradually diminish from the lower extremity to the upper extremity of the casing.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: r 1. An amalgamator comprising a pipe inclined to the horizontal, a feed screw jour naled' in the pipe, the thread of the screw being toothed at its outer edge and the outer extremities of the teeth being rounded to destroy the conveying function at the extreme outer edge of the screw thread, means for feeding the material to be treated, into the lower extremity of the pipe to maintain a pressure head therein, the upper extremity of the pipe being closed to cut off the escape of material except at the upper side, andmeans for rotating the feed screw, substantially as described.

2. A construction of the class described, comprising a pipe inclined to the horizon tal, a feed screw journale'd in the pipe and ecentrically arranged to leave a space above the thread of the screw, the entire length of the pipe, the thread of the screw being toothed at its outer edge to destroy the conveying function,meansfor feeding material to be treated into the lower extremity of the pipe, the upper extremity of the pipe being open on its upper side for the escape of the tailings, the lower portion of the upper end of the pipe being closed, and means for rotating the feed screw, a quantity of mercury being maintained in the lower part of the pipe,substantially as described.

.3. The c'ombination of a pipe inclined to the horizontal and having a feed opening at the upper side of its lower end and an amalgam discharge opening at the lower side of its lower end, a pipe communicating with the feed opening and a second pipe connecting with the amalgam discharge, a feed screw j ournaled in the inclined pipe and compris ing a shaft and a plate spirally arranged thereon and having a toothed outer edge, the lower portion of the shaft for a short distance being devoid of the screw thread, means applied to the lower extremity of the feed screw to throw its axis out of parallel ism with the axisof the pipe, and the in clinedpipe having adischarge opening at the upper portion of its upper end.

The combination of an inclined pipe, a

feed screw extending lengthwise thereof, and journaled therein, the pipe being equipped with means for feeding the material to be treated into the lower extremity of the pipe which contains a body of liquid mercury, the upper extremity of the pipe having a tailings discharge opening at its upper side, the outer edge of the thread of the feed screw, being toothed and the outer extremities of the teeth being rounded to destroy their conveyer tendency, the shaft of the feed screw being equipped at suitable intervals with transversely arranged'pins. v i

5. An amalgamator comprising a pipe inclined to the horizontal, its lower endbeing closed and its upper and lower sides of its lower extremity being respectively provided with inlet and outlet openings,'a conduit connected with the upper opening for feeding the material to be treated, a second conduit connected with the lower opening to receive the amalgam, a shaft journaled in the inclined pipe and equipped with a spirally arranged plate forming a screw thread which is toothed at its outer edge, the thread being interrupted for a short distance at the lower end of the shaft, the feed screw being eccentrically arranged in the pipe to leave a space above the thread the entire length of the pipe, leaving an over flow opening for the discharge of the tail- 7 mgs.

6. The combination of an inclined pipe whose lower extremity is equipped with means for feeding the material to the pipe and for the escape of the amalgam therefrom, a feed screw journaled in the'pipe and extending longitudinally thereof, a space being left above the thread of the screw" to form a passage for washing off the tailings from the concentric contents of the tank, the upper extremity of the pipe being equipped with an adjustable cut-off-plate arranged to leave an opening at the upper part of the pipe for the escape of the tailings, the thread of the feed screw being toothed at its outer edge, the points of the teeth being fashioned to destroy their conveying tendency, the feed screw'being also equipped at suitable intervals with transversely arranged pins having pointed extremities, the lower part of the inclined pipe containing a body of liquid mercury into which the material to be treatedlis originally fed, substantially as described.

7. An amalgamator, comprising a casing inclined to the horizontal, a feed screw journaled in the casing and tiltable to throw its axis out of parallelism with the axis of the casing, means applied to the lower extremity of the feed screw to perform the tilting function, means for feeding the material to be treated into the lower extremity of the casing, and means for rotating the feed screw.

8. An amalgamator, comprising a casing inclined to the horizontal, a feed screw extendinglengthwise of the casing, the lower extremity of the casing being equipped with being such as to change the position of the axis of the feed screw with reference to that of the casing the upper journal of the feed screw shaft being constructed to permit the 10 aforesaid adjustment of the lower extremity of the feed screw, substantially as described. In testimonywhereof I afiix my signature in presence or two Witnesses:

FRED STRINGHAM. Witnesses:

ANNA L. LEHMAN, A. J OBRIEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the a Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. Q3 

